1 September 2010

Double at Rosehill Gardens for Denise’s Joy family

Brian Russell - 1 September 2010

DENISE’S JOY, one of the great matriarches of Australian breeding at this time, contributed to a winning double at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.The first leg was provided by the Gerry Harvey bred and raced Verballed, a 4-year-old mare who gets her Denise’s Joy through her sire, the up and coming Danehill winner getter Conatus.

Owned by a Harvey headed syndicate, bred by him and based at Heather Pascoe’s Plaintree Farms stud near Toowoomba in Queensland, Conatus is a former smart Sydney performer out of AJC Challenge Stakes winner Light Up The World, a Rory’s Jester grandaughter of Joy and Fun, a daughter of Showdown and Denise’s Joy.

As she is by Danehill and from Denise’s Joy, Joie Denise, the Queensland Oaks winner who is the grandam of More Joyous, the second leg of the double at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, has very close blood ties with Conatus.

Bred and raced by Gerry Harvey’s partner in the Magic Millions Sales company and the Vinery stud, John Singleton (Strawberry Hills Stud Syndicate), the 4-year-old More Than Ready mare More Joyous on Saturday took her record to seven wins in ten starts and earnings to nearly $800,000 when she recorded a dominant win in the $100,000 Sheraco Stakes.

The effort of the Gai Waterhouse trained More Joyous, her first appearance since March 6 and her fifth straight win, suggested she will be formidable in big races in the spring. Her earlier successes have included the AJC Flight Stakes, Light Fingers Stakes, STC Reisling Slipper Trial and Tea Rose Stakes.

More Joyous is one of the most superbly bred horses, male or female, in Australia. She was got by Vinery stud’s very successful shuttle sire More Than Ready from Sunday Joy, an AJC Oaks winner who resulted from the mating to southern hemisphere time of Joie Denise (Danehill – Denise’s Joy) in Japan with Sunday Silence. In addition Sunday Joy is a half-sister to the Singleton bred and owned Tuesday Joy (by the Sadler’s Wells sire Carnegie), a champion mare who won seven races, including four Group1s, and earned $3.2million.

More Joyous, Conatus’s dam Light Up The World, Sunday Joy,Tuesday Joy and Joie Denise are among more than 30 stakes winners descending from Denise’s Joy, an outstanding galloper in the Tommy Smith stables in the1970s. She won13 races, including the VRC Oaks, MRC Underwood Stakes, QTC Queensland Oaks and WATC Australian Derby, and at two was second in the STC Golden Slipper and AJC Champagne Stakes.

As a producer of winners, Denise’s Joy was not a success, only three of her ten foals winning and Joie Denise (foaled when her mother was19) being the only one successful at stakes level. However, seven of the foals were fillies and between them they have established a top grade family.

Regrettably, the Denise’s Joy descendants have been light on for colts used at stud. The only two with runners at this time appear to be Thorn Park (by Spinning World), a prominent New Zealand sire at the Windsor Park stud, and Conatus. Also represented on Saturday by Cataclysmic, a third in Perth and earlier winner four times, and last week by two winners at Rockhampton and one at Goulburn, Conatus is making an impression as a sire from modest opportunity.

Other Conatus progeny include Brisbane winners Gag Order (six wins, stakes fourth), Sky Effort and Convictor and Sydney winners Miss Campbell and Solatus. Conatus stands the 2010 season on $5,500.

A Denise’s Joy family produced sire who is to have representation over the next 12 months through first crop 2-year-olds is Primus, a Flying Spur Group 3 winner and money earner in four Group1s. Standing at the Chatswood stud at Seymour in Victoria and used over books of 122, 132 and 136, he is from a grandaughter of Denise’s Joy.

One of the best bred colts ever from this family appears to be the Singleton bred Redoute’s Choice yearling half-brother to More Joyous. He is booked into the Magic Millions sale to be held at the Gold Coast in January.

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19 July 2010

Conatus adding new chapter to Denise’s Joy family

19 July 2010

Performances of progeny of the Danehill sire Conatus in the past week is adding a new chapter to the history of the family descending from his illustrious fourth dam Denise’s Joy. She has made a huge contribution to Australian racing and breeding but has been light on for colts given a chance at stud.

Two currently firing are Thorn Park, one of the top sires in New Zealand, and Conatus, a resident at Heather Pascoe’s Plaintree Farms stud near Toowoomba. He has had far less opportunity than Thorn Park, but added to his rising status as a winner getter on Wednesday with first crop 4-year-old runners including Convictor (won Eagle Farm), Jeffery Joe (second at Warwick Farm) and Princess Conny (third at Darwin).They followed on wins of two in the first crop on Saturday, Tuscon Rain (won by 1.8 lengths at the Gold Coast) and Pocket Battleship (successful at Mungindi, NSW). Also on Saturday his 4-year-old daughter Gag Order finished fourth at Eagle Farm after making the pace and a 3-year-old filly, No Monica, was successful at Toowoomba.

Gag Order has won six of 21 starts, including four at Doomben, and earned $174,000, while other metropolitan winners have included Sky Effort (Doomben), Verballed (three in Sydney), Miss Campbell (two in Sydney) and Solatus (Sydney).

Other winners have included Jeffery Joe (five, three at Cessnock), Report to Duty (successful Gold Coast and Singapore), Demetrie (Wyong and Hawkesbury, three Sydney placings), Explore the World (two at Caloundra), Military Secret (Kembla Grange, placed Sydney), Starpack (Townsville) and Sutanoc (Warrnambool, Mount Gambier).

So far all the winners by Conatus have been sprinters, a fact that is not surprising as his own four wins from13 starts included one over 1000m at Warwick Farm and another at 1100m at Randwick, and his mother, Light Up The World, is a former leading Sydney sprinter bred on the Rory’s Jester – Bletchingly cross.

Also dam of World Peace, a brother to Conatus who won the Blue Diamond Preview and finished third in the Blue Diamond Stakes, Light Up The World is a half-sister to the dams of Thorn Park (nine wins, $1,535,725, including the QTC Stradbroke and AJC Hobartville Stakes) and Bentley Biscuit (12 wins, $1,446,725, AJC T.J. Smith Stakes, All-Aged Stakes, BTC Club Cup).

Conatus stands at Plaintree Farms for syndicate headed by his breeder and good supporter Gerry Harvey. The 2010 fee is $5,500 and bookings can be arranged by contacting Heather Pascoe on 0418 788 878 or (07) 4630 4071. The email address is office@plaintree.com.au and the web www.plaintree.com.au.

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14 May 2010

The Sky Is the Limit

14 May 2010

Toowoomba trainer, John Thomas, feels he’s snared a future star with latest Conatus filly sensation, Sky Effort (by Conatus out of Azure Dior) who has started to make a name for herself by winning a 2YO Handicap on a Saturday at Doomben early in April.

Sky Effort, out of mare, Azure Dior (by Dieu D’or out of Blueness) is a half sister to race winners, Gun Bird (Gundane) and Quatre Bornes (Mull of Kintyre) – was bred by Graham Sue at his farm in Kilcoy, Queensland. In fact after Sky Effort was broken in, she was used for mustering cattle by his Farm Manager until she was ready to go to the Trainer. She has since been leased to new owners, however, Graham – who spends a great deal of time outside Australia with his coal mine in Alabama, USA – has been keeping a close eye on her progress.

After winning her trial in easy fashion at Toowoomba in October of last year, Sky Effort with apprentice Matt Palmer aboard, blitzed the field in her first race start at Ipswich – a 2YO QTIS600 Maiden – in March of this year where she led and won by 1.8 length in a time of 59.0.

At her next start in April at Doomben – a $50,000 2YO QTIS Handicap Over 1010m – Sky Effort, once again partnered with Matt Palmer, blitzed her city class opposition and beat Listed Winner, Jantzen in a time of 58.45 to the post.

John Thomas says he really doesn’t know just how fast this filly can go and Is looking forward to the future. After winning 2 from 2 in her first preparation, Sky Effort was then given a well earned break.

“The filly came back into work a week ago after a month in the paddock and I couldn’t be happier with her as she has grown and developed a lot.” John Thomas said yesterday.

Sky Effort is being set for another start in July and then it is planned that she will target the fillies and mares races as a 3YO.

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1 December 2009

Conatus

Michele Cullen - Stallions Daily Bulletin - 1 December 2009

Young Danehill stallion Conatus, a member of the Denise’s Joy tribe, is doing his bit for the family’s reputation. Conatus showed plenty of the family speed by winning four races under the care of trainer John Hawkes for a large syndicate which included his breeder, Gerry Harvey. Unraced at two, Conatus was successful in his first two outings at three, and twice again at four before his retirement to Plaintree Farms on Queensland’s Darling Downs.

Conatus (Danehill – Light Up The World)

Although Conatus didn’t collect any black type he had plenty of pedigree and breeders in Queensland supported the son of Light Up The World (by Rory’s Jester).

Light Up The World, won eight of her 21 starts and more than $330,000, with her best wins coming in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes, the Group 3 Premier Stakes and Group 3 Queen of the Turf Stakes. She is the dam of World Peace, a sister to Conatus, who won the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview as a juvenile and was third in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes.

Light Up The World’s other winners include the Octagonal colt By Boon and the Chief’s Crown colt My Sheriff.

The second dam of Conatus is Christmas Spirit, a three-quarter sister to the good juvenile Christmas Tree and dam of Presenting, a stakes winner, Tycoon Joy, winning dam of triple Group I winner Bentley Biscuit and Joy, unraced dam of Group I Stradbroke Hcp winner and young stallion, Thorn Park (by Spinning World).

Conatus began his new career with a fee of $5,500 in 2004 and covered a book of 83 mares, his fee dropped the following year to $3300 and he covered his biggest book of mares, 109. Since then, although the number of mares have fallen, his fertility has remained sound at 80%.

With just 15 runners during his freshman year (2007-08) he recorded a lone winner. Last season, things improved dramatically, with more three times as many runners and 13 individual collecting more than $300,000 in earnings.

Already this season Conatus has had as many runners as last and is on track to break the number of individual winners, with 11 already collecting a cheque taking his earnings past $270,000. In November alone, Conatus has had four winners with Ilsenstein (ex Magical Forest by Woodman) and Lenny’s Lot (ex Clever Princess by Forever Regal) both winning in the country. His three-year-old daughter Verballed (ex Accused by Jade Robbery) has won her last two (class six) starts in town as did his four-year-old daughter Gag Order (ex Suppress by Don’t Say Halo) in Brisbane.

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19 November 2009

Gerry Harvey owns the shop and the product

Brian Russell - 19 November 2009

GERRY HARVEY, a giant in both retail store ownership and horse breeding and racing can be described as owning the shop and the product as far as Verballed, a very promising winner at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday,is concerned.

Harvey bred Verballed, a 3-year-old filly who has now raced four times, all on Sydney tracks, for two wins and two seconds, races her out of the Neville Voight stables and heads the syndicate team who own her sire Conatus, a son of Danehill and the Denise’s Joy family Rory’s Jester AJC Challenge Stakes winner Light Up The World.

After Conatus was retired from racing in the ownership of a group headed by Harvey with four wins from 13 outings to his credit, he arranged for him to stand from 2004 at Heather Pascoe’s up and coming young Plaintree Farms stud near Toowoomba in Queensland.

So far with his oldest 4-year-olds, he has had 21 winners and16 others placed. Besides Verballed, they include the Harvey raced Sydney winners Solatus and Miss Campbell and the tough Brisbane performer Gag Order. Like Conatus and Verballed, Solatus and Miss Campbell were bred by him on his Baramul stud in the Widden Valley.

He also bred Verballed’s unraced dam Accused (by Jade Robbery, the sire also of American super queen Azeri) and her mother Hot Gig (by the Harvey stood Bletchingly sire Best Western). The third dam Love Bird was a sister by Century to outstanding classic and staying performer Double Century.

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